But appearing on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth, Johns took aim at the coaches who turned their noses up at the NRL attempting to crackdown on wrestling.

"I find it astonishing that the coaches are talking about the ruck and how it should be policed when they're the ones coaching to cheat it," the Knights great said.

"They're talking about how the ruck controls the game and the team that controls the ruck the most wins the game instead of the most skillful or the teams that work the hardest or the teams that generate offloads are the teams that win, they're talking about the ruck.

"Maybe we'll have to go to the source and say if we catch teams wrestling or wrestling coaches are involved then we're going to fine them.

"If you don't practice it all the time then it's not fresh in your mind."

NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler joined Johns in applauding the NRL's attempt to reduce the number of stoppages during the game, going a step further by suggesting the video referee bunker be scrapped too.

And Fittler said with the NRL being one of the first professional sports to emerge from the coronavirus stand down had a great opportunity to show the game as an exciting and fast spectacle.

"I think if they use that six again rule I think it's fantastic," he said. "I know it's sort of changing the game a bit, the fabric of the game, and I can understand the complaints but I'd rather take that to the world than take a game where everyone's trying to slow it down and manipulate the speed of the game.

"I can understand the coaches, given they've practiced the way two referees rule the game, but I think it's a great way to take our game to the world.

"I think it helps our referees because it gives them confidence and they're not listening to people in their ear driving them mad."